How I Became AJ
by Mangoesaregood8
Summary: Just a oneshot about how I got the name A.J. in the Task Force


_**Just a one shot of how I got the name A.J. (Archer Junior)**_

I was sitting on a bus. I didn't exactly know where I was going, but I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. I had just been drafted into the Task Force 141. I wasn't sure how I had been placed into one of the world's best military forces, but I made it. Joining had definitely not been my idea. It wasn't really even my choice. It was all my parents fault. One stupid trip to Vegas later and I'm in the military, not even knowing if I'll ever see the light of day again. Technically I wasn't even old enough to join. I was 14.

I looked out the window to my left. I could see the entrance gates to the base. There weren't many people on the bus. Just some guy with a Mohawk and another guy sitting next to him who was wearing red tinted sunglasses. They looked like they were both at least 10 years older than me.

The bus stopped, and I grabbed my stuff. It wasn't much. Just whatever clothes and certain personal items I was able to fit into my duffle bag. My mom had always believed in being prepared for stuff, so she stuffed my duffle bag until it was about to break. I couldn't quite close it all the way. I got out of my seat and off the bus. I wasn't exactly sure where I was supposed to go know, so I pulled out my paper that told me where to go. The Captain's hangar. I had no idea where that was. I saw a little billboard not too far away from where I was standing, and walked over towards it. To my luck, it was a little directory. It gave me a you are here symbol and the Captain's hangar was on the other side of the base. Of course. I started walking to the Captain's hangar.

I was in shock when I got there. The building was huge. Besides the mess hall, it was probably the biggest building here. And the mess hall was pretty big. I got over my shock, and walked in. It was like a little waiting room. There was even a receptionist, only he didn't look to happy to be here. Now that I got a better look, it looked like the guy who was wearing sunglasses on the bus.

I walked up to the desk, a bit nervous. I was pretty shy.

"Hello," I said.

"What do you want?" he asked in an annoyed tone. He had a strong British accent.

"Um, I'm the new recruit for the Task Force 141," I said. My hands had started shaking so I took them off of the desk and held them behind my back in an attempt to make them stop shaking.

"New recruit, eh?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Hang on a minute," the man said. He got up and went through a door behind him. I stood there waiting for him to come back. My hands had started shaking very badly at this point. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous. Probably because I was in a new place, and didn't know anyone.

The man came back in the room after a few minutes followed by the guy who had a Mohawk. I remember seeing him on the bus too. Was that guy going to be my Commanding Officer?

"Alright kid, this is Captain MacTavish. Captain MacTavish, this is the new recruit."

I saluted.

"No need to be so formal kid. I run a tight ship, but I'm really relaxed about it," Captain MacTavish said holding his hand out for a handshake.

I brought my hand down feeling stupid, and shook Captain MacTavish's hand.

"So what's your name kid?" MacTavish asked me.

"Megan Taylor, sir," I replied. My voice was a little shaky.

"No need to be so nervous. You look like you think I'm going to bite your head off," MacTavish teased me.

"Ghost," he said.

"Yes sir?" The other man asked. So that was his name. That was an awfully weird name for a person.

"Take the kid around the base. Give her a tour so she'll know how to get to breakfast," MacTavish said.

"Yes sir," Ghost said as he led me out of the Captain's quarters.

"First time in the military?" Ghost asked me as we passed some buildings.

I nodded.

"You're so bloody quiet. Quieter than Roach, I'd say, and that's pretty bloody quiet mate."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I just stayed quiet.

"First I'm going to show you where your bunk is. You're the only girl, so you're gonna have to share with some of the guys," Ghost said as he led me to my bunk.

The barrack I was staying in was pretty small. I was hoping it wouldn't have to hold more than 4 people, because otherwise, it seemed like it would be very cramped in there. Ghost led me in and let me put my stuff on the only empty bunk. There were 3 other guys in here, but I would get to meet them later.

"Next I'm going to take you to the mess hall. It is very, VERY important that you arrive to meals on time. Do you know why?" Ghost asked me.

I shook my head no.

"The mess hall is only open certain times of the day, and if you miss a meal, you miss a meal."

I looked at Ghost with wide eyes. You never wanted to be around me when I was hungry. It could get deadly.

"Are you still alive in there?" Ghost asked waving his hand in front of my face.

I nodded.

"We're going to have to figure out a way to make you talk. If a person asks you a question, would you answer?" Ghost asked.

I nodded.

"How about if it wasn't a yes or no question?"

I nodded again.

"What if it required a long complicated answer?"

I nodded again.

Ghost sighed.

"So far everything you're asking me is a yes or no question though," I said quietly.

"Bloody hell, she can speak," Ghost said.

I smiled.

Ghost led me over to the mess hall and showed me inside. Apparently it was lunch time, because it was crammed with people. I didn't even know that many people lived on the base.

"And if you're smart, you would get here a little early so you can actually sit down," Ghost said as he gestured to the people who were standing up.

I nodded.

Well I better get you back to MacTavish. You probably still have some paper work to fill out, don't you?" Ghost asked me.

"Yeah, but I left it in my bag," I said.

"Can you find your way back?" Ghost asked me.

"I think so," I said.

I almost got back to my barrack by myself, but got a little lost. Ghost helped me find my way back.

I went inside and looked for all the paperwork that my mom had sent with me. Of course it was in a binder. I grabbed the binder and a pen, which I always carried around with me and went back outside. Ghost was waiting for me to escort me back to the Captain's quarters.

Once I got inside, Ghost went back into the room he went into earlier to get… Captain… MacTavish I believe it was.

"Hey kid," MacTavish greeted as he came out. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that that would have been my nickname.

I waved.

"Whatcha got there?" MacTavish asked tilting his head to the side when he saw what I had in my hand.

"Just some paperwork," I said.

MacTavish groaned.

"Don't like paperwork?" I asked.

"Who does?" he responded. "Come on, let's see it."

MacTavish looked over my paperwork for at least 2 hours to make sure everything was signed. He signed a few things here and there, but otherwise looked like he was just staring at it. I was standing for the next two hours extremely bored. I was pretty sure that by the time MacTavish had finished, my eyes had started to glaze over from my lack of blinking.

"Earth to kid. You still with me?" MacTavish asked waving his hand in front of me.

I snapped out of it.

"Huh?"

"You still there?" MacTavish asked.

"I think so," I replied.

"How do you think so?" MacTavish asked me.

I shrugged.

"Ghost was right. You're too bloody quiet."

"I've always been quiet when I don't really know people," I said.

"We'll soon change that," MacTavish said. "Anyway, you're going to be on your own for a while. I've got to fill out this paper work, and you need to start meeting people. It's free time at the moment, so enjoy it while you can."

"Yes sir," I said leaving the room. I headed over to a big field that I could only assume was in the middle of the base. There was a group of guys sitting there. I guess I would have to get used to seeing guys all the time now. I was the only girl on base.

I reached the group of guys and sat down next to one of them. He had short brown hair, (all of their hair was short, like a buzz cut, but his more a bit more grown out,) honey golden eyes, and quite boyish features for someone his age. He looked like he was about 21.

"Hey, look it," someone said. He was a little bit taller than me, and a quite stocky. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. "We got ourselves an FNG. And it's a girl."

"Come on, Meat. Be nice, it's her first day," Someone else said. He was a lot taller than me, and he also had dark brown hair, but his eyes were dark brown, like mine.

"Aw Royce, don't be such a kill joy," Meat complained.

Meat and Royce started to get into a heated argument.

"Do they do that a lot?" I asked the guy sitting next to me. I didn't catch his name.

"Yeah," he said. "At least once a day. The name is Gary Sanderson by the way, but I go by Roach."

"Everyone has such weird nicknames around here," I said.

"Well, I get mine, because I get injured a lot, and I'm still alive. Just like a roach. I'm hard to kill," Roach said.

"It's nice to see I'm not going to be the only clumsy one around here. My name is Megan, and I don't have a nickname," I said holding out my hand.

Roach shook it. "At least you don't yet."

"What?"

"Everyone has a nickname here. You'll get one soon enough," Roach said.

Someone's watch beeped.

"Aw," Meat groaned.

"It's time to go to the barracks already?" Royce asked in disbelief as he looked at his wrist watch.

"Guess so," Roach said.

We all got up and started to head to our barracks. I walked for a little bit before I realized that I didn't know where my barrack was.

"You're looking a little lost there, kid. Need some help?" Someone asked from behind me.

I turned around and saw Roach.

"Yeah, I kind of forgot where my barrack was," I admitted sheepishly.

"Follow me," Roach said.

I did as I was told and followed Roach. He took me straight to my barrack.

"I sleep in here too. Ghost told us that if we got any new guys, they would be in here," Roach said sitting down on his bunk.

"Who else is in here?" I asked. If I was going to be sharing a room with three other guys, then I wanted to know who was going to be in here.

"You, me, Meat, and Archer," Roach said as he ticked them off on his fingers.

I wondered who this Archer person was. It would be really cool if did Archery. My mom was a pretty good packer, but I was way better. I repacked all of my stuff so that I could fit my bow and quiver of arrows into my bag. Even if there wasn't an archery range nearby, I would find one.

Two other men walked into the barrack just then. One of them was Meat, and I could only assume the other one was Archer. I couldn't see what he looked like, because he was wearing a Ghilie suit. I started to unlace my boots, and put them by my bed. I grabbed my blanket and lay down. I was kind of tired from the bus ride over. I wasn't sure why but long bus rides always made me sleepy. By now, the man named Archer had taken off his Ghillie suit. He had black hair that was a little longer than the captain's, and he had piercing blue eyes that looked as if they could see straight into your soul. He also was quite tan, and very fit. He looked to be about 22.

"Hey Archer," Roach said as Archer climbed up to his bunk. He was above me.

"Hey bug. Who's the kid?" Archer asked.

"It's the FNG," Roach said.

I wasn't sure what FNG was at first, but I was starting to get my clues.

Archer leaned over the bed so he could see me.

"Hey kid, I'm Archer. I'm one of the Task Force's snipers." he said.

I waved.

"My name's Megan."

"Nice to meet you," Archer said as he put his hand over the bunk for me to shake.

I smiled and shook his hand.

"So, do you have a nickname, or do you just go by Megan?" Archer asked me.

"It's just Megan. I don't have any nicknames yet."

"Hey Archer, I just realized something," Meat said from across the room.

"What is it?" Archer asked slightly annoyed. I don't think he liked Meat very much.

"You and the kid look alike," he said.

Archer and I looked at each other. He had the same black hair I did, and his eyes were just like mine. A piercing blue color.

"That is so weird," we said at the same time. Everyone laughed.

Ghost popped his head through the door. He was still wearing his sunglasses and Ghost mask.

"Lights out in ten minutes," he said. Then he noticed we were all laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked stepping into our barrack.

"You wouldn't get it," Roach said.

"Ok, whatever," Ghost said leaving for his barrack.

All of us lay back on our beds. I wasn't sure what everyone else did today, but they were tired too.

The other guys fell asleep within the hour, but I couldn't sleep. I grabbed my bow and arrows from my bag and went outside. It had been at least a month since I had last shot it. My dad got me a new rifle, so I was shooting that, and making sure that it was sighted in. I didn't know it then, but it was a good thing that I had good aim with most guns. Just not sniper rifles. They were heavy and had too much recoil for me. Shotguns weren't on my list of favorites either but I could at least shoot them without getting knocked off my feet.

I headed over a part of the base that was practically deserted. No one had been here in a while. There weren't even any footprints here.

I knew there weren't any archery ranges around, so I thought to myself, '_Why not build one.'_

The next morning, Ghost woke up to a weird sound. It went _twang_, then _fap._

"What the bloody hell is that?" he asked to himself. Ghost got out of bed, and put on his shirt. Then he went outside to investigate the source of the noise. What he saw shocked him. Someone had built an entire archery range over night. He looked who it was that was shooting, and saw none other than the FNG. He walked up behind me.

"Did you build all of this by yourself last night?" someone asked from behind me.

I looked up from my aim, saw Ghost and nodded. Then I lowered my head back down and hit a perfect bull's eye.

"Looks like he have an archer on our hands," Ghost said.

I shot my last arrow and put my bow down.

"But we already have an Archer on base."

"You could always call me A.J. Besides, Archer and I look a bit alike anyway, so it would work," I said standing at ease.

"A.J.?" Ghost asked.

"Archer Junior," I replied. I thought it was a cool name.

"Then I guess your name is A.J. then," Ghost said turning to head towards the mess hall.

"Yeah, I guess it is," I whispered to myself as I got my arrows to shoot a new round.


End file.
